Circle of Inevitability

751 "Help"

Lumian had always assumed that the catacombs administrator, marked with light brown age spots, had been assimilated by the catacombs themselves, becoming part of this peculiar place, and would over time become more corpse-like, losing all semblance of life and forever sleeping within an upright, decaying coffin.

Yet, here he was, able to leave the massive tomb chamber that housed the Samaritan Women's Spring, still carrying a burning white candle.

Taking turns guarding the entrance to the Samaritan Women's Spring, the longer you stay, the deeper the catacombs’ peculiar erosion takes hold, making you less and less like the living until finally, you no longer need a lit white candle to prevent being consumed by the catacombs? Can one slowly recover once they rotate out? Lumian speculated as he watched the elderly catacombs administrator ascend the steps.

As he drew closer and the candlelight illuminated his features, the group of students also got a clearer look at the newcomer.

They recognized the uniform of the catacombs administrator but had never met one so aged he seemed nearly decomposed.

His face, speckled with light brown age spots and his eyes black and icy, coupled with his faint, almost non-existent breath, instilled an involuntary fear in them, prompting them to huddle together for warmth and courage.

With each soft step echoing, the elderly caretaker stopped at the Entrance to the Old Ossuary.

He then turned, casting his chilling gaze upon Lumian.

Me? Do we know each other? Plus, I came here on a whim, driven by impulse and didn't inform anyone of my plans. Why would you need to see me? Lumian was taken aback, as were the university students.

They hadn't expected this intriguing, skilled prankster to be acquainted with such a frightening catacombs administrator.

Had he really explored the catacombs so often that he had befriended the administrators?

Perplexed, Lumian stood up and followed the elderly administrator to the side of the Entrance to the Old Ossuary.

He wanted to hear what this was all about and why he was being sought out.

In the dense darkness, with just a stub of a white candle making his face appear more ghastly, the emotionless caretaker said, "There's been an anomaly with a corpse on the fourth level's southwest corner. Handle it.”

“Me?" Lumian pointed to himself with his empty right hand.

Why are you asking me to deal with this? There are other catacombs administrators, official Beyonders for this sort of thing. Why me?

And you're ordering me around as if I'm a mercenary paid to handle such matters, without even discussing compensation...

“Correct.” The elderly administrator nodded gently. "My body and spirit are nearing decay, and I can no longer engage in combat.”

Lumian eyed the administrator with curiosity, probing, "Do you know me?"

The deep wrinkles on the administrator's face unfolded into a strange smile. "You are one of our kind.”

One of our kind... Lumian mused, a guess forming in his mind.

"Deal with it now. The longer you wait, the more troublesome it becomes." The administrator turned and headed back towards the “Entrance to the Old Ossuary.”

! came to stake out Harrison from Resurrection Island, not to work for you... Lumian muttered silently, his curiosity piqued as he followed the more corpse-like than living administrator down the stone steps.

During this, he flashed a smile and waved at the students, frightening them into silence; none dared to respond.

Once Lumian and the elderly administrator's figures had disappeared deep into the stone stairway, with only a flicker of candlelight remaining, the students finally relaxed and exhaled in relief.

That guy really knew the catacombs administrator well!

He must be extremely familiar with this place!

Were the rumors he shared actually true?

Recalling Lumian’s description of the dorm anomalies and the consequences of extinguishing a candle, the students shivered in unison, pulling their candles closer to their bodies.

Descending layer by layer, past François' Tomb and the Blood Order Hall, Lumian followed the old administrator, quickly reaching the southwest corner of the catacombs’ fourth level.

Using the remaining third of his white candle, Lumian saw a giant skeleton, about three to four meters tall, composed of bones from different corpses and shaped like a human with seven or eight heads, all eye sockets dark, void of any colored flame.

At that moment, the giant skeleton was opening tomb doors, extracting sharp bones, and adding them to its massive bone sword.

The candlelight spread only slightly, illuminating the area minimally as darkness flowed like water, bringing an indescribable chill and horror.

Even without getting close, Lumian involuntarily felt fear and resistance, as if he were walking towards death.

His blue eyes darkened to iron-black, reflecting the ghastly pallor of the aberrant skeleton.

Deep within its chest, it felt as if he had to cleave through layers of white bones to reach it.

"You see it? Take care of it,” the old caretaker commanded again, as if ordering a subordinate.

"What abilities does it have?" Lumian wasn't averse to lending a hand—he had just acquired a powerful item and was eager to use it, but he couldn't just rush into battle without understanding the monster's capabilities and planning his strategy.

The candle in the administrator's hand was now just a stub, its dim flame stubbornly clinging on.

He shook his head and said, “I'm not sure, but it's being suppressed by the catacombs, unable to show much of its potential. Once it gets dark outside, we might not have that advantage. We must clear it out now."

The catacombs are suppressing it... Lumian mused aloud, "How often have these anomalies occurred recently? Is it frequent?”

"It's normal, once or twice a month," the elderly catacombs administrator replied in a raspy voice.

Even if it's broadly sealed, some abnormalities still occur? That's similar to other areas of the Underground Trier... As Lumian was about to ask more questions, the giant, mud-and-mold-covered skeletal aberration seemed to notice them, suddenly turning around and raising its massive bone sword.

The surface of the giant sword burst into pale-white flames.

Thud, thud, thud, the skeleton with several heads moved stiffly but quickly charged toward Lumian and the catacombs administrator.

The surrounding darkness surged over, bringing with it a bone-chilling cold and a terror that seemed to reach into their souls.

Without hesitation, Lumian reached into the Traveler's Bag and grasped the Sword of Courage.

A warm rush quickly spread through his body.

What's there to fear?

Fight, fight, fight!

Lumian drew the iron-black greatsword and charged toward the giant skeleton and its terrifying bone sword.

Then, he swung the Sword of Courage upwards.

A bright white flame with a hint of blue burst forth from the blade.

Bang!

The iron-black greatsword collided with the bone sword, made of numerous sharp bones, in midair.

Lumian’s knees bent as his feet sank into the mud.

The skeleton's force was immense, and the bright white-blue flames tangled with the pale-white flames, mutually extinguishing each other.

Lumian was not afraid.

His eyes excited, he tightened his thighs, straightened his knees, and advanced rather than retreated, slashing with his iron-black greatsword toward the colossal creature.

The bone sword responded with the force of a falling boulder.

Boom!

The collision triggered a violent explosion, and the fierce shockwave, carrying the bright white-blue flames, struck the giant skeleton's surface, pushing it back two steps.

Lumian pursued, slashing again with the Sword of Courage.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

With each clash of the huge swords and in every massive explosion, a large number of bones fell from the skeleton, charred, and even the bone sword itself thinned significantly.

Finally, Lumian broke through its defense, cleaving into its chest with one strike.

Boom!

The bright white-blue fireball expanded there, penetrating its entire body.

The giant skeleton froze instantly.

Crash! collapsed entirely, like a stacked block castle knocked over.

Lumian withdrew his iron-black greatsword, turned halfway to the elderly catacombs administrator, and smiled, saying, “Neutralized.”"

As he spoke, he returned the Sword of Courage to the Traveler's Bag.

Just after this action, Lumian suddenly sobered up.

Was that it?

Although I had planned to engage in direct combat before drawing the sword, I hadn't considered just a head-on attack...

Truly the Sword of Courage...

Hearing Lumian’s words, the elderly catacombs administrator, holding the nearly extinguished white candle, slowly approached.

Lumian, taking advantage of having just provided help, casually asked, “Has anyone visited the Samaritan Women's Spring in the past few months?"

That was supposedly the strongest point of death energy in the entire catacombs, and Harrison might be drawn there.

The elderly catacombs administrator looked at Lumian in slow motion, his voice hoarse as he said, “Extinguish the candle."

What? Extinguish the candle? Are you trying to kill me? Lumian’s first reaction was that the catacombs administrator in front of him meant him harm.

Without a lit white candle here, one would be eerily erased and forgotten by all!

At that moment, the candle in the administrator's hand burned down to the end, flickered once, and was completely extinguished.

Darkness surged toward the old man, seemingly engulfing him in deathly silence.

He did not disappear.

In that instant, Lumian recalled many things, including the catacombs administrator considering him one of their own and his own guess about it.

He hadn't made his final, crazy decision when the darkness around the administrator viciously spread, enveloping him.

His white candle suddenly went out.

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